Captive of Friendly Cove

December 15, 2015
John Jewitt, a blacksmith aboard the Boston in 1803, finds himself under attack by the Mowachaht on what is present-day Vancouver Island. Maquinna, the chief, shows mercy on John, likely because of his metal-working skill, and takes him as a slave instead. Trapped for almost three years, Jewitt secretly wrote about his struggles in this true, but likely embellished, story that forms the basis for the graphic novel. Many captivity narratives from this period often reinforce the importance of religion and cast indigenous peoples in a negative light, and, occasionally, this is no different, but Goldfield makes a concerted effort to show John's captors as sympathetically as possible, noting their incredibly troubled history with white traders, which often resulted in theft, betrayal, or outright massacre. Short's boldly colored artwork focuses less on detail and more on the clarity of storytelling, which helps highlight the nuances of Goldfield's script. This accessible glimpse into a little-known corner of history might help illuminate some of the complexity of a conflict often cast only in black-and-white terms.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)